Matthew Mayich, a defense prospect in the St. Louis Blues organization, collapsed on August 20 during an outdoor workout at Arizona State University. According to a lawyer representing his family, the 21-year-old now has “zero chance of recovery.”
Mayich fell into a coma that day and remains hospitalized in critical condition. Robert Carey, a former deputy chief attorney general of Arizona and now a partner at the law firm Hagens Berman, is representing the Mayich family and has been sharply critical of how the university has handled the situation since.
“My investigation shows the storyline is completely false,” Carey said, per The Arizona Republic. “This case has shattered [Mayich’s] life. He deserves, and his family deserves, a proper investigation.”
Matthew Mayich update
The workout has been described as a “military-style” session led by Tim Ziesel, a 39-year-old former military service member who is not an ASU employee. Multiple players interviewed by Carey described the roughly 50-minute session as grueling and hostile, conducted in temperatures near 86 degrees Fahrenheit with no wind. According to the players, athletes were told not to complain and had water intake restricted based on effort level.
Ziesel’s attorney, Buddy Rake, pushed back on that characterization, describing the session as a mid-level conditioning routine comparable to workouts used by high school football teams, per The Arizona Republic. Rake said coaches, assistant coaches, and medical personnel were present throughout, and noted that Ziesel had already left before Mayich collapsed.
Carey has also criticized Arizona State’s response, accusing the school of “circling the wagons” during what athletic director Graham Rossini has described as a “review” rather than a formal investigation.
Mayich was selected by the Blues in the sixth round, 170th overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft. He had been set to join the Sun Devils this season after spending his freshman year at Clarkson University.
READ MORE: Matthew Mayich’s family asks for prayers as he nears a week in hospital
